Ilustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
לֹא תִקֹּם וְלֹא תִטֹּר אֶת בְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ
וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ
אֲנִי ה'׃
Don’t take revenge or hold a grudge against your fellow citizen,
Love your neighbor as yourself,
I am God.
What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? What’s the mitzvah? And how does it connect to the first half of the pasuk?
"וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ" - לֹא הֻזְהֲרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִלַּעֲשׂוֹת לְחַבְרֵיהֶם אֶלָּא דָּבָר שֶׁאֵינוֹ חָפֵץ לַעֲשׂוֹת לְעַצְמוֹ:
“Love your neighbor as yourself” - We are only told not to do to others things that we wouldn’t want to be done to ourselves.
וְאִם יִהְיֶה אוֹהֲבוֹ בַּכֹּל יַחְפֹּץ שֶׁיִּזְכֶּה רֵעֵהוּ הָאָהוּב לוֹ בְּעֹשֶׁר וּבִנְכָסִים וְכָבוֹד וּבְדַעַת וּבְחָכְמָה.
וְלֹא שֶׁיִּשְׁוֶה אֵלָיו אֲבָל יִהְיֶה חָפֵץ בְּלִבּוֹ לְעוֹלָם שֶׁיִּהְיֶה הוּא יוֹתֵר מִמֶּנּוּ בְּכָל טוֹבָה. וִיצַוֶּה הַכָּתוּב שֶׁלֹּא תִּהְיֶה פְּחִיתוּת הַקִּנְאָה הַזֹּאת בְּלִבּוֹ.
If you love someone completely, you want that beloved friend to have riches, property, honor, knowledge, and wisdom.
However [because of human nature it is likely that] you wouldn’t want that person to be equal to you. In your heart you might still want to have more than your friend in all these good things. That’s why the Torah commands you not to have this jealousy in your heart.
So, what is “Love your neighbor as yourself”?
- Rashi thinks of it as giving us a minimum. At the very least, you should not harm your neighbor, just like you would not want to be harmed by anyone else. That’s the least you can do for others.
- Ramban thinks of it as a bigger command. Help your neighbor to enjoy all the best things in life. Go above and beyond for them, just like you would want them to go above and beyond for you.
And what’s the connection to not being jealous?
- Rashi thinks all the mitzvot in the pasuk belong together because they’re all about how to avoid harming others.
- Ramban thinks that getting rid of jealousy is something you have to do before you can fully love your neighbor.
- Does being a moral person mean avoiding harm to others (like Rashi), or pursuing good for others (like Ramban)? Can you make both arguments? Is it one or the other, or could we really need both?
- When you are out on the playground with your friends and others, are you more concerned with not harming anyone, or with finding active ways to do good things for others? Which is harder? Which is more important? Which is more meaningful?
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